Stitch-separating machine.



PATENTED AUG. 4, l908.

' J. B. HADAWAY. STITCH SEPARATING MACHINE.

Arnxonxon IILBD 121, 1900.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. HADAWAY, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

STITCH-SEPARATING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed May 21, 1900. Serial No. 17,401.

Patented Aug. 4, 1908.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, JOHN B. HADAWAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stitch- Separating Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to stitch separating machines and more particularly to stitch separating machines for separating or indenting the stitches at the edge of a boot or shoe sole after the seam has been finished.

The object of the invention is to provide a machine of the class referred to which shall be of simple construction and which shall operate automatically ,to feed the work and indent the material between the stitches. In various atents'heretofore granted to me I have disc osed several machines for accomplishing this result. a

A machine embodying my resent invention however difiers from the evices heretofore patented by me, among other features, in that the. feeding tool is arranged to act upon the side of the sole opposite to that acted upon by the indenting tool. By so arranging the feeding tool, I am enabledto provide a feeding device which positively engages and feeds the work without marring the surface of the sole acted upon by the indenting tool.

I am aware that it has heretofore been pro posed to supply a sole sewing machine with an indenting tool for separating the stitches, and that in such machine the needleis arranged to enter the work from below and to be moved laterally to feed the work. In such machine however the needle which performs the feeding operation passes completely through the Work instead of engaging the bottom of the sole. Moreover such machine can only act to separate the stitches durin the formation of the seam and is not adapte to act on the work after the seam "has been finished.

A machine embodying my'present invention comprises a stitch separating tool arranged to act upon the upper side of a pro jecting boot or shoe sole, a suitable support for the work and a feeding tool arranged to head of the frame A.

0 represents a work support herein shown as a t roat plate adapted, as .shown in Figs. 2 and 3, to enter the channel cut in the bottom side of the sole and hold the channel flap out of the path of the feeding tool. The

feeding toolfis secured to the upper end of a bar 9 reciprocating in guide ways in an oscillating frame h.

i represents a guide bar reciprocating withthe bar gin guides in the frame it. A presser foot (1 carried by a reciprocating slide 0 coop erates with the work support 0 to clamp the work during the action of the indenting tool on the stitches and while the feeding tool is entering the work, the pressure exerted by the presser foot being sufficient to hold the work to the support while the feeding tool is entering the work and yet allowing the work to shift under the action of the separating tool on the stitches as will-be described.

The mechanism for actuating the slides b and e, carrying the indenting tool and presser foot, is the same as the mechanism for actuating the awl bar and presser foot of the machine disclosed in the patent to Cobb #421,095, dated Feb. 11, 1890, and the mechanism for actuating the slide 9 of the feeding tool and for oscillating the frame It is the same as the mechanism for actuating the needle bar and feeding frame disclosed in said patent. A disclosure of these mechanisms in detail in the present application is therefore deemed unnecessary.

The operation of the machine above-described is as follows :The edge of the boot or shoe sole, the stitches of which are to be indented, is placed on the support 0, the projecting edge of the support entering the channel in the bottom of the sole, and formin a gage to properly position the work with re a,

tion to the indenting and feeding tools. The presser of now descends upon the work and clamps it against the support during the action of the indenting tool. As the indenting tool rises, the feeding tool is raised toward the work and as it engages therewith or immediately thereafter the presser foot is raised thus leaving the work free to move under the action of the feeding tool. The tool is preferably arranged to act on the intervals between the stitches in the channel and the frame it is actuated to give the feeding tool a lateral movement equal to the normal length of a stitch. So long as the stitches are of uniform length, the feeding tool will feed the work the proper distances to position the intervals between the stitches directly beneath the separating tool. Should, however, the length of the stitches vary, the intervals between the stitches will not be properly positioned beneath the separating tool, which will strike to one side of the stitch intervals. The V-shaped end of the separating tool acting on the rounded ends of the stitches will, however, shift the work backward or forward and locate itself in the stitch intervals, the pressure of the presser foot on the work not being sufficient to prevent this shifting movement.

As shown in the drawings, the feeding tool f is pointed so as to enter the work and in order to prevent the tool from marring the appearance of the finished shoe I preferably subject the shoe to the stitch separating operation before the channel flap has been glued down and arrange the feeding tool to act in the channel instead of upon the bottom of the sole.

While in the illustrated embodiment of my invention I have for convenience shown certain well-known mechanisms for giving the desired movements to my stitch separating and work feeding devices, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited to such mechanism, but that any mechanism for so actuating the parts as to cause them to perform their intended function might be used.

Having thus described my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A stitch separating machine, having, in combination, a feeding tool engaging the bottom of a sole provided with a finished seam and acting to feed the work intermittently uniform distances, a tool for separating the stitches and shifting the work independently of the feeding tool to compensate for stitches of varying length, and mechanism for actuating the tools, substantially as described.

2. A stitch separating machine, having, in combination, a stitch-separating tool acting upon one side of a sole provided with a finished seam, a feeding point acting upon the other side of the sole, mechanism for actuating the separating tool in a fixed path, means for holding the work under light pressure during the operation of the separating tool so that the work may shift, if necessary, to locate the stitch intervals under the said tool, and mechanism for actuating the feeding point arranged to cause the same to engage the stitch intervals of the seam and feed the work uniform distances, substantially as described.

3. A stitch separating machine, having in combination, a stitch separating tool acting upon one side of a sole provided with a finished seam, a feeding tool acting upon the other side of the sole, mechanism for actuating the feeding tool to engage the intervals between the stitches and feed the work uniform distances, and mechanism for actuating the separating tool to indent the stitch intervals and to shift the work to compensate for variations in the stitch lengths, sub stantially as described.

4. A stitch separating machine having, in combination, a stitch separating tool acting upon one side of a sole provided with a finished seam, a feeding point acting upon the other side of the sole, mechanism for actu ating the feeding point to intermittently engage and feed the work, mechanism for actu ating the separating tool to engage the work while the feeding point is disengaged therefrom, and means for supporting the work while permitting it to shift under the action of the separating tool to locate the tool in the stitch intervals, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN B. HADAWAY.

Vitnesses:

HoRAoE VAN EVEREN, ALFRED H. HILDRETH. 

